Zambia: Parishioners mark Good Friday with solidarity for victims of Cyclone Idai

The Catholic faithful in Livingstone, the tourist capital of Zambia, on Good Friday, observed the day with a prayerful and Biblical re-enactment of the Way of the Cross by a procession through the town’s Central Business District.

English Africa Service – Vatican City.

Hundreds of Christians in Livingstone town, Zambia, have marked Good Friday with a procession and reenactment of the Passion of Jesus Christ led by the young people of St. Theresa’s Cathedral.

A time to reflect on the suffering and the cross in our lives

Livingstone Diocese’s Vicar General and Cathedral Dean, Fr. Clifford Mulasikwanda told the faithful to embrace the Cross of Jesus in their daily lives. He told them that the reflections of the Way of the Cross presented by the Cathedral’s young people were an invitation for them to carry the various crosses of their lives.

“Good Friday is worth observing because it is about the good news of our Lord who died for our Salvation. We are gathered here because of our faith in the Crucified Jesus. We too are therefore called upon, to carry our own cross in our daily lives,” said Fr. Mulasikwanda.

On the Cross, Jesus demonstrated unconditional love

Martha Muzumara, a former civil servant and congregant at St. Theresa’s Cathedral spoke of Jesus Christ’s unconditional love.

“Good Friday to us as Africans, or should I say to all humanity, should be taken as our Valentine Day celebration because that is when Jesus showed his total love by dying on the Cross for us,” she said.

Livingstone Diocese’s solidarity with the victims of Cyclone idai

The people of Livingstone Diocese, have during this year’s Holy Week, been asked to demonstrate solidarity with those most hit by the effects of climate change in Southern Africa. A collection is being taken to this effect.

On 15 March, last month, Tropical Cyclone Idai made landfall and tore through several towns and villages of the Southern African countries of Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe ripping rooftops, demolishing buildings and, in some cases, submerging whole cities and villages. Ninety per cent of Mozambique’s city of Beira was destroyed.

The full extent of this Southern African humanitarian crisis is just now beginning to be fully understood. With rains still falling in some areas, the water is not draining away, and this has already led to a severe Cholera outbreak in Mozambique.

Prayer and solidarity are connected

Reflecting on the solidarity fund being collected in Livingstone, Martha Muzumara said the two are connected.

“As Christians, we have to give whatever we can. Sometimes this giving can take the form of service or sharing of our time or even volunteer for something. If we pray without giving, then the prayers are meaningless. So (the fund we are making for the victims of Cyclone Idai) has a connection with our prayer life because our brothers and sisters are suffering. They did not choose to suffer in that way. Here at St. Theresa’s Cathedral we have been urged to give something -no matter how little it may be,” said Mzumara.